~ politics for the people

Both Tories and Kippers have made Douglas Carswell an MP. Read this and ask: Why?

Douglas Carswell does not understand tides, but has managed to convince the people of Clacton – a seaside town – to make him their MP. What were they thinking? [Image: PA.]

Incredible.

This man has a Master’s degree (although admittedly not in tidal science); he has been able to convince both Conservative and UKIP voters to make him an MP (the people of Clacton must be heartbroken) yet he is too ignorant to accept scientific fact.

Douglas Carswell thinks the tides are caused by the sun. Perhaps he thinks the moon can’t be responsible because it is made of cheese?

Never mind, though – here’s Brian Cox to explain the matter – for the benefit of Douglas and anybody else he may be about to mislead (especially in Clacton where they seem prone to it):

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell has become embroiled in a bizarre argument with scientists over whether the moon or sun causes ocean tides.

Scientific knowledge generally holds that tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon orbiting the earth. The Sun’s much further distance means it has a much more limited effect because of the effect of the inverse square law on gravitational pull.

However, committed eurosceptic Mr Carswell on Monday challenged a top scientist at Sussex University’s Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) over the claim, arguing that the sun in fact primarily causes tides.

The row comes after fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove declared that “people in this country have had enough of experts” when he refused to name any economists who backed leaving the EU.

Mr Carswell is Ukip’s only MP, and represents Clacton, a seaside town in Essex.

He appeared at the party’s conference this weekend where he declared that he backed new leader Diane James “110 per cent”.

Well just did a quick search on Clacton tide times with lunar phase and there are plenty of easy to read charts! Perhaps he has been mixing with too many climate change deniers who blame the sun for the what they see as a ‘temporary’ glitch in our climate – they say its the sun’s fault even though it is not the outer layer of the atmosphere (bit nearest the sun) that is heating the most – it’s the part below the atmospheric greenhouse gas layer.